What Not to Say…

Yesterday at the nail salon, which my mother, sister and I frequent:

Nail Tech: Your face get a little fat (as she uses her fingers to show roundness in the face)

Me: Uhhhhhh…

Mom: NO! That’s not true…

Nail Tech: Yes! You gain the pounds, no?

Me: Uhhh… I mean… uhh.. I’ve gained weight…

Nail Tech (while smiling and nodding): Yes, see!?

Me: That’s uhh… I’m pregnant. So, yeah.

Somehow, the conversation wouldn’t go away and my sweet mother added in, “It’s interesting to see how your diet is different this time around.”

Me: (More silence and furious texting to my husband)

<End Scene>

WHAT. THE. F…

I literally went home and proceeded to cry to my husband.

So, for those of you who have never been pregnant or it’s been too long to remember the emotions, let me share a few things with you:

  1. Just because it’s inevitable (and healthy and wonderful, blah blah) that you’ll gain weight, does NOT mean it’s open for analyzation. Keep your opinions to yourself. I don’t want to know which part of my body you think got bigger or how YOU feel about what I’m eating. In fact, you can keep all of your opinions regarding me and/or my pregnancy to yourself.
  2. Despite the happiness that pregnancy brings, it also brings a heavy load of body insecurity. It is literally a time where you no longer recognize your own body. It’s also a time where your body just totally does its own thing. At moments, that’s a lot to handle, so simply be kind.
  3. I REALLY don’t want to hear about how little weight you gained when pregnant. 100% uninterested.
  4. When in doubt, ask yourself, “if she wasn’t pregnant, would I say that?” Or better yet, “what would it feel like if someone said that to me?”

Today I told a colleague my nail tech story and she responded by saying, “shut up! I constantly think about how annoying it is that you can barely notice that you’re pregnant except for your little bump.”

That, my friends, is how you speak to a pregnant woman.

Winter Break 2015/16

For the first time in… I don’t know, ever, I had a REAL Winter Break this year. Even in college, I always worked over breaks. Hell, in high school I worked over breaks.

This year, I took off from Thursday, December 24th (I only worked a half day on the 23rd) through the new year… meaning today is my first day back.

Ahhhhhhhh… SO NICE!

To make it even better, the hubs was off, too!

We spent the first half of our trip really relaxing. I’m talking daily naps, afternoon movies, day dates, etc. Unfortunately, Charlotte got sick on the 24th and was sick with pink eye… then a few days later got sick with a fever, which she had for three + days.

The goofy munchie enjoying some milk.

 

That face…

 

Sweet Charlie and Daddy at a friend’s family Eve Before the Eve Christmas Party!

 

Can you tell which eye C had pink eye?? We were at the doc the next morning!

 

Christmas Carols! Guess which mini person loved all the singing?

 

Joining in the Christmas cheer.

 

Cozying with friends!

 

Girlies at the party.

 

More of the gals.

 

Can you believe she’s like 36 or 37 weeks pregnant? Looking good!

 

Hello, telephone!

 

Big chats.

 

Downward facing baby.

 

I swear we don’t just leave pill bottles lying around. This is the empty container for her eye drops.

 

Christmas Day with my Bestie, Kate!

 

Top: Christmas 2014, Bottom: Christmas 2015 – Look how much she’s changed!!  

Charlotte was being a sass in front of her future hubby during our playdate. In her defense, the fever started that night.  

Playing with daddy.

 

More daddy snuggles.

 

Mommy & Charlie looking through her “Vacation Memory Book” from school (the cutest little book that has a picture of everyone in her class.

 

Mommy & Charlie practicing yoga.

 

Drum time.

 

Poor cookie still not feeling well.

 

Helping Daddy pick out new glasses.

 

Smooshy face.

 

Our little workerbee.

 

WHO IS THIS??

 

New Years Eve 2015/16: Bowling Party

 

Bowling with a toddler was hilarious!

 

 

Happy NYE face.

  


 The second half of our vacation was spent painting Charlotte’s new big girl room! I’ll do an entire post dedicated to the new room and painting process, but the gist is that we’re going to leave the nursery as-is (ish) – only changing decor, but leaving all major furniture/paint – and move Charlotte to the other bedroom.

 

So, to begin the room makeover, we painted. Trim and all!

We picked Sherwin Williams Intimate White, which is pretty dang pink/coral. BUT, I really love how it turned out and think it’s all going to come together quite nicely.

BEFORE (with a splash of our tester color)


  

We moved the furniture into the hallway!


AFTER: Sneak peek with just a few items in the room!

  

Mark & Kitty admiring their hard work

We’re Having A…

Charlotte is very excited to announce that come May of THIS YEAR (Happy New Year, All!), she’ll welcome a little brother into our family! 

    
    

C’s “I Love My Brother” onesie: $4 from Kohl’s 

 We had our anatomy scan ultrasound this past Tuesday (12/29) and it went perfectly! Baby is healthy and adorable. 

He was a little wiggle worm and smooshed his hands in his face and laid with his legs over his head like a goon. It was so fun to see him play around in there and just such a relief to hear that he’s seemingly healthy!

The doc said that a positive anatomy scan reduces chances of any genetic disorders by 50%! 

And gender… Let’s just say the hubs is pretty darn pleased! Me too! I envision a cuddly little buddy and I just can’t wait to snuggle this sweet little guy.

My heart is bursting.

Check out this little stud…

   
    
    
   

Orange

I was about the put C down for her nap when she looked at me and while signing “eat,” said “orange”… Which actually sounds like “ornjshhh” or something like that. 

I was so excited, I jumped up and took her to the kitchen – mid naptime routine – and showed her an orange. I said, “is this what you want?” And with an excited smile, she said “yes.”

How cool is that? She can say some words, but that feels like the first time that she used a word to tell me that she wanted something that wasn’t in front of her.

And being that the poor little buns woke up with a fever that hasn’t ceased and thus has barely eaten today, I was happy to oblige.

18 Weeks, 4 Days

12/22/15

  How far along: 18 Weeks, 4 Days

Total weight gain: When I checked last, I hadn’t gained any since last time. According to my doc, it’s 2 lbs… but my guess is that I’m closer to 5-7 lbs.

Maternity clothes: All day, every day.

Stretch marks: Nada… yet.

Sleep: I thought we were past the toddler night terrors, but they’ve returned this week. Between the toddler and the puppy, I’ve had a couple sleepless nights lately… but there is a big positive. One that I’m very proud of. I recently took a break from my typical “chick lit” books and picked up Pride & Prejudice… and with my recent night wakings, managed to finish it! Take that, high school self! Not only did I finish it, but I REALLY enjoyed it! Go me!

Best moment of this week: My little bug is doing SO well at school. I cannot even begin to tell you how happy it makes me to see her loving school so much and thriving and growing as she is. She’s just such an amazing little lady.

Miss anything: Maybe a glass of red wine.

Movement: Yes!! Still just little bumps here and there… but it’s so fun! I can’t wait for the big kicks!

Food cravings: Food and I are not in a good place. I’m in my low confidence in my body place right now. SO, I’m trying very hard to make better choices and get my preggo butt to the gym. I have to stay healthy for this little nugget inside of me!

Anything making you queasy or sick: Feeling good!

Have you started to show yet: Yes!

Gender: My cousin claims to be 100% sure it’s another girl. Everyone else thinks boy. I just don’t know!

Labor signs: No, no.

Belly button in or out: It’s a gaping hole.

Wedding rings on or off: On!

Happy or moody most of the time: I’ve got to be honest, I have been operating on a fine line of wanting to punch people in the face. My crabby switch gets flipped SO easily these days. I can feel myself getting wildly offended by things I’m not sure are actually an issue. I’m trying to take deep breaths. Maybe next week will be better! haha

Looking forward to: We find out the sex of the baby NEXT WEEK!!! AHH!! I can’t even believe I’m already almost at the halfway point! How has time whizzed by so quickly? Another exciting thing… Marky and I are going to paint C’s big girl room this weekend! YAY! I can’t wait to get it all set up!

16 Week Visit with the Doc

This morning I had my monthly check in with the doctor. When I was pregnant with Charlotte, I swear, the appointments used to last an hour. This round, they’re so quick. I literally have no questions ever.

Is that because I’m just so smart and know everything? Or am so dang distracted with working and mommying full time? Who knows!

Either way, it was a nice quick visit with my favorite doc.

Weight: Up 2 lbs (total)

BP: 94/50

Pulse: 88 bpm

Fetal Heart Rate: 150 – by the way, I love hearing the sweet baby’s heartbeat.

Since my next doctor’s appointment won’t be until next year, I brought a little holiday gift for my doctor and favorite nurse today. I made a recipe called “Christmas Crack”… it’s wildly delicious. I put them in cute little jars.

Here’s how they turned out…

16 Weeks, 2 Days

12/6/15

   

 How far along: 16 Weeks & 2 Days

Total weight gain: Okay, I swear I’m only partially doing this on purpose… but I don’t know! I haven’t stepped on the scale lately.

Maternity clothes: All day, every day.

Stretch marks: Praying this vitamin E oil works…

Sleep: I’ve been doing a lot better with sleep… although I was up for 1.5 hours in the middle of the night last night. And oy. Charlotte had been having these screaming crying fits in the middle of the night. Thankfully, she didn’t last night… but eesh. They were so sad.

Best moment of this week: We had a great weekend! Charlotte started gymnastics, which was adorable! And I saw my girlfriends, which is always nice. And last night was the first night of Chanukah, which was just so silly. Charlotte is finally into gifts.

Miss anything: I could have gone for a glass of wine or a martini this week. I’ve been having terrible, terrible headaches and could have used something to take the edge off.

Movement: On Thursday night, I’m like 99% sure I was feeling the baby. I had consumed an excessive amount of 7up and I think little baby boop was fizzing around in there. YAY! Finally, my favorite part of pregnancy.

Food cravings: Mac & Cheese… that’s been my big weakness lately. 

 Anything making you queasy or sick: My headaches have been making me pretty uneasy. Oy and I had a stomach flu on Sunday night/Monday morning. It was terrible. I ended up calling the doctor because I was unable to keep down anything, including liquids. In my weakened state, I got pretty nervous for the little babes. Thankfully, it was gone fairly quickly.

Have you started to show yet: Big bump.

Gender: I can’t wait to find out! I’m so indifferent, but I hate not knowing. Messes with my uber controlling mind.

Labor signs: No, no.

Belly button in or out: It’s starting to look like a gaping hole again.

Wedding rings on or off: On… but sometimes they’re tight.

Happy or moody most of the time: I was sick and recovering this week, so I’m not sure. Mostly worn out. But again, we had a great weekend and I was definitely all sorts of happy.

Looking forward to: My doctor’s appointment and a fun family weekend!

Baby Kicks!!

12/3/16

  For the past few days, I’ve been feeling like I could feel the baby move when I sneezed or did something abruptly… Just a quick movement and then things felt still.

But tonight, as I ignored the Packers getting their butts kicked by the Lions, I felt continuous baby kicks!

My absolute favorite part of pregnancy has begun!!! I feel really excited. My little baby boo is happily splashing around. 

Could be the excessive amount of 7up I just drank, but either way, my heart is warm.

💛💛💛